Cigarette vending machine



Feb. 25, 1936. w. H. BROWN CIGARETTE VENDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1934 Feb. 25, 1030. w. BROWN 2,032,001

CIGARETTE VENDING MACHINE 7 Filed July 25, 1934 .5 Sheets-Sheet Feb. 25, 1936. w. H. BROWN I CIGARETTE VENDING MACHINE Filed July 23, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l atented Feb. 25, 1936 UNiTED STATES ATENT @FFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates to coin controlled vending machines and the object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive machine for vending cigarettes from the original package, care having been taken in designing the mechanism to satisfy the Internal Revenue official requirements for the sale of tobacco products by vending machines, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

10 In the drawings annexed:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, of my machine.

- Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, the casing being omitted.

15 Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a cigarette package provided with a trunnion rod and having three of its walls or edges slitted to insure the proper handling of the package in my machine.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View of my machine.

20 Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 are views of details hereinafter described.

Referring to the drawings annexed by refer- 25 ence characters l designates the bottom plate of a magazine formed by a pair of vertical rear bars II and two pairs of front bars l2, these latter bars being slightly separated to provide a vertical guide-way l3. The foregoing bars are connected 30 at their upper ends by the top frame bars Id. The cigarette packages l are piled fiat in the magazine upon the bottom plate I0. Before loading the magazine with the cigarette packages each one is slitted along one edge and also along 35 each end, as shown in Fig. 3, and a trunnion rod 16 is afiixed to the un-slitted edge of the package by puncturing the wrapper at two points and threading the rod through said punctures, as shown also in said Fig. 3. The packages when 40 thus trunnioned and slitted are inserted in the magazine one after another, with the ends of the trunnion rod in the guide-way E3. The front one of each pair of guide bars 2 is terminated at a point above the supporting platform Ii] to per- 45 mitaccess of the withdrawing hooks I! to the opposite ends of the trunnion rod to thereby enable the lowermost package to be pulled from under the stack, as hereinafter set forth. As each package is thus withdrawn the remaining 50 packages in the magazine will gravitate to the supporting plate Hi and thus put the lowermost package in position for another operation after the previously withdrawn packages have been -discarded.

55 The trunnion rod of the lowermost package rests upon the upper edges of a pair of horizontal bars l8 whose rear ends are attached to the standards or rods forming the magazine and whose forward ends are provided with notches l9 opening upwardly and outwardly. When the packages are slid forwardly by means of the hooks I, the ends of the trunnion rods drop into said notches l9 and remain there, while the rear edge of the package slips off the forward edge of the plate It) and swings downwardly to the posi- 10 tion shown in Fig. 2. The pair of hooks l1 are pivotally connected to a frame 20 which is pivoted at 2| to the frame of the machine, and the hooks are held slightly resiliently downwardly by means of a spring 22, this spring action being merely to insure that when the hooks I! are swung backwardly they will ride up over the trunnion rod and snap behind the same, so as to thereby insure the withdrawal of a cigarette package whenever the frame is swung back- 20 wardly and then again forwardly, the latter movement being, as stated, for the purpose of depositing the trunnions in the notches I9. To swing the frame 20 backwardly I attach to one of the bars thereof a lever 23 which by gravity 25 normally rests upon a stop 24. By raising this lever the hooks I1 are swung backwardly into engagement with the trunnion rod, and then by swinging the lever downwardly the trunnion rod is delivered to the notches I9.

After the cigarettes are all or nearly all delivered from the slitted package onto or into the delivery mechanism hereinafter described, it is essential to dispose of the empty wrapper before another package can be brought forth into deliv- 3 ery position. I therefore provide simple devices for delivering the empty wrapper backwardly into a receptacle 24, one of the empty wrappers being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. This mechanism for disposing of the empty wrapper consists of a pair of arms 25, preferably slightly curved, depending from the side bars of the frame 20, and a pair of rails 26 whose top edges extend downwardly and rearwardly into the receptacle 24'. When it is desired to throw an empty or partially empty wrapper back into the receptacle 24' the lever 23 is swung downwardly far enough to cause the hooks I! to dislodge the trunnion rod from the notches I9, whereupon the package gravitates until the ends of the trunnion rods rest on the rails 25, whereupon the lever 23 is swung upwardly to insure the travel of the trunnion rod rearwardly and downwardly on the rails 26, the curved extensions 25 serving to engage both ends of the trunnion rod and thus give it an impetus which carries it to the wrapper box 24. This manipulation of the lever 23 can be accomplished only by moving the stop 24 out of the path of the lever 23. This is provided for by having the stop 24 so arranged that it may be pushed inwardly out of the path of the lever 23, this stop 24 being slidably mounted in the frame by means of a rod 2'! and provided with a coil spring 28 to insure the stop 24 assuming its normal position at all times, in which position it is in the path of the lever 23 and thus prevents said lever moving any further downwardly than is necessary to deliver the package into the notches l9. In this simple way it will be seen that the same lever, 23, which is utilized for withdrawing the packages and delivering them to the suspending hooks or notches I9 may be utilized for disposing of the empty wrapper after all the/cigarettes, or nearly all the cigarettes, have been delivered from the package.

Any suitable devices may be employed for receiving, by gravity, the cigarettes from the split packages and for delivering them to the buyer. I illustrate a hopper-like structure consisting of an' inclined plate 29, a roller 39 and another inclined plate 3|, the two inclined plates being so arranged as to cause the cigarettes to roll down and lie against the cylindrical surface of the roll 39. The roll 30 is provided with a longitudinal groove 32 in its face adapted to hold one cigarette, suitable stops being arranged to hold this delivery cylinder with its groove 32 in close juxtaposition to the lower edge of the inner plate 29, so that whenever the roll 30 is rotated over forwardly, the cigarette lodged in said groove will be carried around and delivered out through the opening 33 in the casing. Suitable coin controlled devices will be utilized for controlling the operation of this delivery cylinder. The coin controlled device will as usual be so constructed as to permit, when a proper coin is inserted, the operator to rotate the cylinder far enough forwardly to deliver the cigarette, but not to permit a repeat operation. To insure against dislodgement and jamming of the cigarette on its way down to the delivery opening I provide the inclined plate 3| with a downward extension 34 which follows the curvature of the roll 30 to a point adjacent to the delivery-opening 33; and to permit the operator to have a full view of the delivery operation, and to make sure that a cigarette has lodged in the groove 32, I make both the plates 3| and 34 transparent. I also provide the front face of the machine with a glass plate 35 to permit the purchaser to observe the cigarettes and also to permit the Internal Revenue officials to at all times examine the outer face of the suspended wrapper to observe the revenue stamp thereon and note the manufacturers marks or symbols.

In Figs. 8 to 12 inclusive I show one form of coin-controlled apparatus suitable for use with my machine. I aifix to the shaft 36, of cylinder 33, a finger operating button 31, and at the other end of the shaft, at the other side of the machine, I aifix a radial arm 38 carrying a horizontal pin 39, which projects inwardly toward the casing far enough to overlap the horizontal flange 49 projecting outwardly from a plate 4|, this latter plate being affixed at its outer end, by rivets 42, to a coin-bar 43. The plate 4! slides on the outer face of the outer wall 44 of a casing and the coin-bar 43 slides on the inner face of this wall, within the cavity formed by the casing 44, this casing 44 being afiixed to the side wall 45 of the frame of the machine. The casing 44 has a coin slot 43 formed near its forward end, an upstanding guard lug 4'! being employed to assist in inserting the coins in said slot 46.

The coin-bar is provided with a coin-receiving notch 48 adapted to receive the coin as it gravitates from the coin-receiving slot 46 so that when the coin-bar 43 is pushed backwardly to release the delivery devices, the coin will be rolled along on the bottom of the casing 44 and the outer plate 4lwill, of course, be carried with the coin-bar. Unless there is a coin in the notch 48, a shoulder 49, on'the top edge of the coin-bar, will strike against the forward edge of a latch 59 whose pivots. 5| are journalled respectively in the wall of the casing 44 and in the frame member 45, this pivotal arrangement permitting the forward end of the latch 50 to gravitate to and rest upon the upper edge of the coin-bar at a point to the rear of the shoulder 49. When, therefore, there is no coin in the notch-like holder 48, the coin-bar cannot be pushed farther back than the latch 53 but when a coin is in the notch 43 the coin will roll up on an up-standing lug 52; pressed upwardly from the bottom of the casing 44, and strike the latch at its forward end and lift it to a point above the shoulder 49, thus permiting the coin-bar to be pushed all the way back, in which position the coin will be in position to gravitate through a coin slot 53 formed in the bottom of the casing 44, just. to the rear of the coin-lifting lug 52. The flange 40 is provided at a point to the rear of the shaft 36 with a notch 54 which is closed by a valve-like flat spring 55 fastened to the top surface of the flange and having its free end extending over said notch or slot 54. At a point in front of the shaft 36 the flange 49 is provided with another notch 56 which is covered by a valve-like spring 51 affixed to the underside of said flange 49.

The pin 39 carried by the arm 38 is adapted to pass through the aforesaid notches 54 and 56. When the coin-bar is pushed in as far as it will go, that is, against the latch 50, the forward notch 56 will be out of the reach of the pin 39 and so it will not be possible for this pin 39 to pass down through said notch, nor will it be possible for this pin to pass down through the rear notch 54 even should the bar be pushed forwardly its full stroke because said notch is closed by the valve-like spring 55. Under these conditions, therefore, it will be seen that the pin 39 is free to move in an arcuate path above the flange 40, and to thus permit the delivery cylinder 30 to make a free turn of about without delivering a cigarette. This freedom to oscillate or wiggle the cylinder the distance approximating 93, more or less, is important in that it permits the buyer to wiggle or oscillate the cylinder'until he is assured that a cigarette has been lodged in the groove 32, this being desirable because the weight and structure of the cigarette is such that it is not possible to provide means whereby the cigarette will in every instance lodge properly in the groove 32. The glass front, including the wall 34 of the glass guard 3i, enables the buyer to see the groove when the cylinder is thus preliminarily oscillated, and the buyer may keep on oscillating the cylinder until a cigarette is properly lodged in the groove. After the cigarette is properly lodged in the groove, the buyer then inserts a coin and pushes the coin-bar backwardly far enough to operate the latch 50 and deposit the coin as hereinbefore set forth, Whereupon the coin-bar will move backwardly far enough to permit pin 39 to move down through notch 56, past the valve-spring 51, thereby permitting the cylinder to be rotated forwardly far enough to deliver the cigarette out through the opening 33.

Further movement in a delivery direction of the cylinder is prevented by a pair of stops 60 and 6|, one mounted on the cylinder and the other on an adjacent part of the frame. The coin-bar is prevented from movement backwardly beyond coin-delivering position by means of a shoulder 63 formed on the upper edge of plate 4|, which shoulder is adapted to abut the extended end of one of the pivots 51 of the latch. The forward movement of coin-bar, to coin receiving position, is arrested by a shoulder 64 formed on the lower edge of the coin-bar in position to abut the coinlifting cam 52.

To assist in guiding the coin-bar and its attached lock-plate 4| I provide the lock-plate at its rear end with a channel guide 65 which embraces and slides on an outwardly extending flange 6 formed on the lower edge of the casing 44. It will be understood that after the pin 39 passes down through the one-way slot 56 to make the final delivery movement of the cylinder, it cannot be moved back up through said slot on account of the spring 51, but said pin can be moved to the upper side of said flange 40 after the plate 4| and its coin-bar is moved forward to coin-receiving position because at that point the pin-passage 54 will be in vertical alignment with the pin 39, which will permit the pin to be passed up through said pin-passage 54, pass oneway spring 55, after which the coin-bar is manually pulled forward to coin-receiving position. In this position the parts are again ready for another complete operation, which as stated, cannot be made until another coin is inserted and the coinbar is pushed backwardly to delivery position. It Will be observed also that when the coin-bar is in this coin-receiving position it will be impossible to get the pin 39 below the flange 40 and thus it will be impossible to make a delivery of the cigarette, although, as set forth, the cylinder will be free to be wiggled or oscillated for the purpose of insuring the deposit of a cigarette in its receiving groove.

It sometimes happens that in view of the flimsy character of cigarettes they arch or jam in the hopper, at the point where they gravitate out of the split wrapper, and in order to avoid this jamming or arching I provide a stirrer in the form of a wire bail 67 which normally lies upon the upper face of the inclined hopper bottom 29 and has its forward ends pivotally connected tothe respective ends of the cylinder 30, so that as the cylinder is primarily Wiggled for the purpose of insuring a deposit in the groove 32 of a cigarette, this bail 61 will jostle the lowermost cigarette or cigarettes and thus break the jam, thereby insuring that the several cigarettes within the hopper shall always be loosened up sufliciently to insure deposit of a cigarette in the groove.

I claim:

1. In a machine for vending cigarettes singly, a package magazine adapted to receive and guide a plurality of packages of cigarettes, each of said cigarette packages being provided with trunnionmeans and each package being slitted so that it will automatically open when suspended by said trunnion-means, means for withdrawing the lowermost package from the stack by means of said trunnion-means, means for suspending said package by said trunnion-means when it is thus withdrawn to thereby permit the slitted package to open and gravitatingly deliver the cigarettes, a hopper means for receiving the cigarettes from the packages, and a device associated with said hopper means for delivering the cigarettes one by one therefrom.

2. The structure according to claim 1, the trunnion-means being a rod aflixed to the package and extending beyond its ends.

3. The structure according to claim 1, the trunnion-means being a. rod threaded through openings in one wall of the package and extending beyond the ends of the package.

4. The structure according to claim 1, said withdrawing means embodying a pair of hooks adapted to automatically engage the trunnion means prior to withdrawal of the package.

5. The structure according to claim 1, said means for suspending the package consisting of a pair of members having open notches adapted to receive the trunnion means.

6. The structure according to claim 1, means being provided whereby the empty wrapper of the package may be dislodged from said suspending means and moved to and deposited in a receptacle.

7. The structure in accordance with claim 1, the means for withdrawing the package consisting of a pair of hooks adapted to engage the trunnion means, the means for suspending the package consisting of a pair of rails having open notches into which the trunnion ends engage, and means whereby said hooks may be operated to not only deposit the trunnions in said suspending notches but also give them an additional movement to dislodge them from said notches and thus permit the empty packages to be discarded.

8. The structure in accordance with claim 1, means being provided for releasing and discarding the empty packages, said means being composed in part of said withdrawing means, and a pair of depending levers, a pair of rails on which the trunnions of the empty package ride, and a receptacle for receiving the empty packages.

9. The structure in accordance with claim 1, the withdrawing means embodying a pair of hooks adapted to engage the trunnions and mounted on a swinging frame, the suspending means consisting of a pair of trunnion-supporting rails provided with trunnion receiving notches therein, a lever for actuating the frame carrying the hooks, and a stop for said lever, means being provided whereby this stop may be shifted into a position out of the path of the lever to enable the lever to make a longer stroke and thus make the hooks be utilized to dislodge the trunnions from said notches.

10. A cigarette vending machine, a hopper embodying a grooved delivery cylinder and an inclined plate for delivering cigarettes to said cylinder, and an anti-jam device associated with said cylinder and said plate, said anti-jam device consisting of a wire bail having the ends of its arms pivotally connected to the respective ends of said cylinder, said bail being positioned to rest and slide on said inclined plate when said cylinder is rocked on its axis.

WILLIAM HLRAM BROWN. 

